Clinton’s server may answer many questions

WASHINGTON – A forensic examination of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s private computer server could unearth more details than what she put in her emails. It could answer lingering questions about the security of her system, who had access to it and whether outsiders tried to crack its contents.

Clinton last week handed over to the FBI her private server, which she used to send, receive and store emails during her four years as secretary of state. The bureau is holding the machine in protective custody after the intelligence community’s inspector general raised concerns recently that classified information had traversed the system.

Clinton leads the race for the Democratic presidential nomination by a wide margin even though questions about her use of the server have shadowed her campaign. Republicans have seized on the issue to raise questions about Clinton’s trustworthiness.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday in North Las Vegas, Clinton said she was “very comfortable that this will eventually get resolved and the American people will have plenty of time to figure it out.”

She added: “In retrospect, this didn’t turn out to be convenient at all and I regret that this has become such a cause celebre. But that does not change the facts.” She reiterated what she did was “legally permitted” and said she did not send any emails marked “classified.”

Clinton’s emails show some messages she wrote were censored by the State Department for national security reasons before they were publicly released. The government blacked out those messages under a provision of the Freedom of Information Act intended to protect material that had been properly classified for purposes of national defense or foreign policy.

A computer server isn’t a marvel of modern technology. Just like a home desktop, the computer’s data is stored on a hard drive. It’s unclear whether the drive that Clinton used was thoroughly erased before the device was turned over to federal agents. If it had been, it’s also uncertain whether the FBI could recover the data.